Living wage intervention (Dominican Republic)

The primary component of the intervention was a 350% wage increase, but apparel workers in the intervention factory also received education and professional development and were exposed to an enhanced occupational health and safety program.  Workers at the intervention factory were compared with workers at a matched apparel factory.  Data were collected via in-person interviews at baseline and endline, which was 15-16 months after workers were initially hired at the intervention site.  

 Findings: Results showed that receiving a 350% higher wage was associated with substantially higher subjective social status scores, as well as higher global and comparative self-rated health scores; effects were strongest in women. Subjective social status and self-rated health are associated with future health outcomes, indicating that income increases for apparel workers may have positive long-term health outcomes.  Furthermore, workers in the intervention factory had significantly fewer depressive symptoms than workers at the comparison factory, and these results were sustained when controlling for covariates. Taken together, our findings suggest that providing a living wage to improve income and wellbeing in a disadvantaged population may have a significant ripple effect of reducing depressive symptoms because improvements in mental health have been associated with improved physical health, better outcomes for child growth and development, and increased productivity.

Publications (sorted by recency): 

Rehkopf, D.H., Burmaster K, Landefeld J, Adler-Milstein S, Flynn E, Acevedo MC, Jones-Smith J, Adler N, Fernald L.C.H.  The impact of a private sector living wage intervention on cardiovascular disease risk factors in a middle income country. BMC Public Health (2018) Jan 25;18(1):179.

Landefeld,  J.C., Burmaster, K.B., Rehkopf, D.H., Syme, S.L., Lahiff,  M., Adler-Milstein, S., Fernald, L.C.H.  The association between a living wage on subjective social status and self-rated health: a quasi-experimental study in the Dominican Republic. Social Science and Medicine (2014) Nov; 121:91-7.

Burmaster, K., Landefeld, J., Rehkopf, D.H., Flynn, E., Hidrobo, M., Acevedo, M.C., and Fernald L.C.H.  The impact of a private sector living wage intervention on household income, spending, savings, and debt among apparel workers: a quasi-experimental study.  BMJ Open (2015) Aug 3; 5(8):e007336 PMID: 26238394